New Permanent StoryWalk Now Open at Creekside Park
We are very pleased to announce that our second permanent StoryWalk® is now in place around the one-quarter mile paved walking trail at Creekside Park. The first story has been installed—the bilingual Spanish/English “Delicious Hullabaloo.” This is a collaborative effort of the Friends of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library, the Craven County Parks & Recreation Department and the Craven Literacy Council. We have a grand opening event on Saturday November 19th from 10 to 11:30. There will be sidewalk chalk for the children to draw characters from the story. Please stop by! Big Book Sale
The Fall Big Book Sale was great! The Knights of Columbus facility worked well so we have arranged to have our 2023 Spring and Fall sales there again. As soon as we can confirm the dates we will post them on this website. Thanks to who helped set up, work and take down the sale! Thanks to all those who supported the sale by buying books and media! Do come back in the spring.
WE DESERVE A MAIN MODERN LIBRARY THAT MEETS
CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS OF OUR POPULATION
The New Bern-Craven County Public Library facility located at 400 Johnson St. was last expanded in 1992 to 26,200 square feet. In 1990 the census population of the Library Service Area--greater New Bern area (New Bern, Bridgeton, River Bend, Trent Woods, Township 2, Township 7 and Township 8) was 42,042. In 2020 the population was 60,488, an increase of 43.9%. According to standards just released by the State Library of North Carolina, minimally the library should have 39,317sf (0.65 sf per capita served).
Modern libraries, in addition to its collections, need space for large and small meetings, tutoring, makers’ space, STEAM programs, computer learning labs, digital media labs and other programmable flex space. They are community learning hubs. Innovative libraries are economic engines for their communities and provide a return on investment of $4.14 per every $1 invested.
The new main library needs to: 1) meet minimum State Library standards per capita served; 2) be more geographically situated; 3) be easily accessible/visible; and 4) have adequate parking onsite.
Click here to sign the online petition. Click here for a hard copy of the petition. Click here for a letter detailing the problem. If you would like someone to present to your group on this topic, click here. Please share this information with family, friends, co-workers, social media contacts, and groups to which you belong!
HELP NEEDED Your small Board is getting burned out from all the work entailed to manage this organization and run its various programs. PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!! See the FOTL newsletter for details. If interested, contact President Joanne Straight jostraight@gmail.com Positions available:
Board members: Directors
Design & set up Library Circulation Desk Display STORYWALK OPEN AT MARTIN MARIETTA PARK
Our Friends provided funding to install a new permanent StoryWalk at Martin Marietta Park. It officially opened on March 25, 2022. Each title will be up for approximately two months then a new story will be put up. If you visit this StoryWalk, please send us a picture. Email it to jahnbnc@gmail.com NEW PERMANENT STORYWALK PLANNED FOR CREEKSIDE PARK
Our Friends are partnering with Craven County Parks and Recreation Department to establish a permanent StoryWalk at the popular Creekside Park. It will be located in the front of the park around the 1/4 mile walking trail. The panels are on order and we hope to have the new StoryWalk location up and running the first week in November as November 7-11 is National StoryWalk week.
STORYWALKS AVAILABLE FOR USE IN CRAVEN & PAMLICO COUNTIES
Our Friends are the coordinators for StoryWalks which can be used by Friends, libraries, nonprofits, churches, schools, and community event organizers in Craven and Pamlico Counties. Funded jointly by the Harold H. Bate Foundation and the Friends of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library, we have seven StoryWalk titles available for use: Giraffes Can’t Dance, Grumpy Monkey, True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Rainbow Fish, Walter the Farting Dog, Big Pumpkin and Bear Stays Up for Christmas. Those wishing to use a StoryWalk should contact coordinator Miriam Roseblossom via email. Or click on the StoryWalk Agreement Form in the list at the bottom of this column. DONATION OF BOOKS & OTHER MATERIALHere are a few pointers about what NOT to donate. We don't like to think that we have limits, but some items are simply not appealing to the Friends' Book Sale clientele for a variety of reasons, and all donations require volunteer time to sort and box as well as space to store - all of which are precious resources, always in short supply. You can help! Use these guidelines to sort, weed and discard inappropriate materials before donating to the Friends (or any other nonprofit).
Condition matters! Please DO NOT donate books in the following condition(s):
Dirty, Shabby, Soiled, Smelly
Moldy, Mildewed
Water Damaged or Insect Damaged
Damaged Binding or Pages
Missing or Torn Covers or Pages
Excessive Writing, Markings, or Highlighting
Softcover books with crooked or twisted spines
Please note: For legal reasons, we do not accept homemade copies of any type of media or commercial software that is not packaged with a book.
Please remove any post-it notes or sticky tabs from the book. Sorters won’t take the time to remove them and will discard the book.
Finally, before you donate a book, hold on to the spine and shake each book gently. Very often people leave things in books and forget about them -- important things like receipts with banking numbers, personal photographs, greeting cards with handwritten messages, and even cash. Please check before you donate.
Please note that we do not return containers and we reserve the right to determine whether or not to accept the donation.
Where to drop donated books and other material?
Donations are gratefully accepted at our storage unit:
River Mills Professional Storage Center
2723 Neuse Blvd.
Tuesday through Thursday 8 AM to 4 PM
If necessary to donate at other days and times, you could drop them off at the library, 400 Johnson St., but if you do, we must then transport them to the storage unit which takes extra time and manpower.
It is not possible for the Friends or the Library to pick up donations from the general public. If you are considering a very large donation that might overwhelm our available workspace, please email us to make special arrangements. friendsnewbern@gmail.com
The Friends are pleased to consider offers of unique or specialized collections that do not necessarily meet the standard guidelines above. In some cases, we may send a subject expert to your site to review a special collection. To discuss a donation that may be of unique value, please send a message to our general email: friendsnewbern@gmail.com
How to get a receipt for the donation?
If you would like a receipt for tax purposes, count the number of items you are donating and leave it with your donation including your name and mailing address. The Friends can give signed and dated receipts for the number of items, but cannot assess the value of your donation. The receipt will be mailed, but be patient.
WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOUR DONATION
OF BOOKS AND OTHER MATERIAL.